July 22, 2010

LO Thrilled at Chance to Rep USA

In Lamar Odom's first go-around with Team USA, during the 2004 Olympic Games, the squad fell short of its gold medal goal.

As Lamar joins Team USA for a second go-around this summer, leading into the FIBA World Championships in Turkey, he's looking for a little personal redemption.

"We fell a little short my last time out, won the bronze. Hopefully this time I can help Team USA get back. Hopefully I can be named to the team, go to Turkey, represent them in the World Championships and in 2012 go to London for the Olympics. It's a tremendous honor."

LO is one of 23 players in training camp in Las Vegas this week as USA Basketball prepares for the Worlds. The roster will be pared down to just 12 and because of his versatility, Lamar seems like as good a bet as any player to make the cut. But LO knows he has plenty of competition for a roster spot, as he told Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld:

"Amazing to see all the talent," said Odom. "O.J. Mayo, Andre Iguodala, Gerald Wallace and Danny Granger all shooting at one basket."

Lamar plays for 82 games a year with one of the top players in the world, Kobe Bryant. But to be surrounded by All-World players at every position has a certain 'Wow' factor:

"This is an honor to be on the court with these guys. There is so much talent out here and so many guys that can play. So many great coaches out here too. It’s an honor to be with them as well," LO said. "This is fun. At the end of the day it’s just a game. Whenever you get to do something like this to represent your country is a tremendous opportunity."

Lamar told Pincus that much about him has changed in the six years since his last go around with the National Team, including his outlook on the game of basketball:

"You see things a little differently," said Lamar. "I never was a selfish player but I'm probably a lot less selfish now. I see things a little different, take my time and don't rush. I am who I am and I just play basketball and have fun."

As a two-time NBA champion now, Lamar has gained some perspective on playing to win.

"Once the business of basketball favors you and you've taken care of what you've needed to take care of - then you should really understand that it's all about winning," said Odom. "That's how you'll be judged as a professional."

VACATION'S OVER
Lamar told reporters Tuesday that from the time the Lakers won the NBA Championship on June 17 until he began working out with Team USA this week, he hadn't touched a basketball.

"I boxed and things like that," he said, "but this is the first time I ran up and down the court and actually had a basketball in my hand."

But LO said it won't take long for him to get himself back to playing mode, not with the pace that is set by his top-notch teammates, as he told NBA.com's John Schuhmann.

"When you’re competing with guys like this three or four days, competing with such great athletes, great basketball players, it won’t really take any time to get back in shape," Odom said. "So I feel pretty good."

Though training for the World's takes away from a well-earned vacation for Lamar, he wouldn't trade the opportunity for more R&R, as he told HoopsWorld's Pincus:

"It'll be fun just to run up and down a little bit," said Lamar. "It was a short vacation for me but I'll use this to kind of get back in shape."

Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski joked that Lamar's boxing training might help his chances during the more physical international play:

"Lamar said they had a long season,'' Krzyzewski said. "He's boxed. I asked if he got knocked out. He said he had not been knocked out. So that's good. He already gained a couple of points for Turkey by saying he had not been knocked out.''

READY FOR ANOTHER RUN
While Lamar spends the rest of his summer training with Team USA, it's impossible for him not to think of what lies ahead for his Los Angeles Lakers next season.

The two-time defending NBA champions will be looking to three-peat and Lamar has been paying attention to the moves that have been made around them, as he told HoopsWorld:

"[I've been] watching basketball and watching basketball news," he said. "The league is competitive, teams have gotten better. Everyone will be coming at us to knock us off and I'm looking forward to it.

"Stay healthy and we'll be alright."

One crucial move made by the Lakers this offseason that received LO's stamp of approval was the resigning of point guard and team leader Derek Fisher.

"It's great for us getting Derek back. He's definitely a focal point of our team on the court, off the court. He's an amazing person and I've learned a lot from him the last couple of years."

RELATED STORIES
An Exclusive Interview with LO (LamarOdom.com, March 9, 2010)
http://www.lamarodom.com/?q=node/603
Team USA Notebook (FanHouse, July 21, 2010)
http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/07/21/team-usa-notebook-lamar-odom-says-hes...
A Well-Deserved Rest for Odom (NBA.com, July 21, 2010)
http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2010/07/21/a-well-deserved-rest-for-odom/
USA Men's National Team Gets on the Court (USA Basketball, July 20, 2010)
http://www.usabasketball.com/mens/national/10_mnt_practice_07_20.html
Team USA: Odom and Rose, Veteran and Young Star (HoopsWorld, July 21, 2010)
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=16886#ixzz0uQLGHr1O